Cushioning mechanism



Oct. 24, 1933. D. s. BARRows cU'sHIoNING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 17,

Patented Oct. 24, 1933 1,931,480 cUsmoNiNG MECHANISM Donald S. Barrows, Rochester, N. Y., as'signor to.' TheSymington Company, New York, N. Y., a

corporation of Maryland Application November 17, 1930 Serial No. 496,305

8 Claims.

This invention relates to cushioning mechanism and, more particularly, to such adapted to function as draft gears for railway vehicles.

The principal object of my invention, generaltl ly considered, is to provide a fully enclosed draft gear which preferably involves a housing-ccntaining spring-actuated wedges and a follower, spring cage, or cooperating housing with a preferably integral wedge extension frictionally enla gaging the wedges in the first housing and inter-locked with respect thereto vby means of cooperating shouldered portions on the parts, said cage enclosing springs for effecting release of the mechanism, means preferably being pro- 15.' vided for preventing undesired withdrawal of the wedges from the housing.` j

Another object of 'my invention is to provide cushioningl mechanism adapted to function as a draft gear for railway vehicles andA preferably 211 involving cooperating housings which together entirely enclose the mechanism, one of said housings containing friction wedges spring-pressed toward one another, and the other housing preferably having integral wedge extensions cooperating 25 with said spring-pressed wedges. l A further object of my invention is the provi-f sion of friction-draft gear involving cooperating housings or followers which contain the springs and friction elements,'the gear `being so formed 3&1 that the cooperating housings may be interlocked with one another after placing the enclosed parts in position by merely pressing them together until a central wedge portion snaps into interlocked relation with associated friction wedges.

Other objects and advantages of the invention relating to the particular arrangement and construction of the various parts will become apparent as the description proceeds.

Referring to the drawing illustrating'my invention, the scope whereof is defined by the appended claimsz- Figure 1 is a partial side elevation and partial vertical longitudinal sectional view of cushioning mechanism embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse, sectional View on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction'of the arrows. V c

Fig. 3 .is a fragmentary, horizontal sectional view illustrating the manner in which the retaining keys interlock with spring caps to prevent disarrangement of the parts.

Referringto the drawing in detail, like parts being designated by like reference characters, there is shown va cushioning mechanism or draft gear 1 comprising a housing or'friction casing 2 which normally encloses aI pair of friction wedges or wedge blocks 3. Resilient means,fpreferably taking the form of curved plate springs 4, `are desirably provided for urging the wedges 3 toi Ward one another-and into engagement with'th'e @ik central cooperating wedge member or portion 5, and disposed in inwardly opening pockets defined by the housing end yWall land transverse flanges extending inwardly from the side walls, and disf- Y posed intermediate the ends of saidA housing..65il The wedges 3 and the wedge portion 5 are preferably formed with normally engagingl shoulders 6 and 7,'respectively, to prevent undesired withdrawal of the wedge extension 5 from engagement withv the wedges 3. `In ,order'to econo- '10J- mize space, the wedges 3 preferably overlap to some extent, that is, a portion 8 ofone Wedge may be extended to y t in a correspondingly notched portion 9 'in the other wedge, and the portions 10- of the; second-mentioned wedgelon '57 either side of the notched portion 9 desirably extend in the correspondingly notched portions 11 of the first-mentioned wedge-as shown most clearly i'nFigure 1. In this way, the wedges 3 may bedisposed relatively close together, While 80 the friction surfaces 12 thereof and thecorre-v sponding Vfriction surfaces 13y on the central wedge portion 5 may be` disposed at the desired angle.

cooperating with' the housing 21s a follower, ss

spring cage `or associated housing 14 provided with a transverse web or Wall 15, forming` the follower portion for associated release' springs 16, andalongitudinal'partition 17, on either side of which are disposed the releasing means 9o which, in the present embodiment, take the form of coil or helical springs 16. i The partition portion 17 desirably extendsy into Vthe housing 2V and is integrally connected with'thegouterfend of the wedge portion 5, the connection beingfu'r- 95 ther reinforced by extendingl the partitionl'l partiallyaround the springs 16, as indicated at 18, and-increasing the enclosure of said springs, so that where the partition portions 18 extend out of the housing 2, each spring isv enclosed'on 100 all but one side, which thereby provides for 4inspection of the springs through theapertures 19".

In order to prevent undesiredremoval ofthe wedges 3 from the housing 2, due to' actionsof the release springs 16, or any other cause, stopfmealns, 105 preferably taking the form of keys v2O,` 'are1 desirably provided which pass'through" corresponding'slots21 in'the side walls 22 of the housing.

2 and normally engage the outer ends of the Wedges 3, the outer surfaces of said keys being, 110

V`embraced relationship with the outer edges ofv in turn, engaged by spring caps or seats 23. The keys 20 also preferably serve to hold the release springs under the desired initial tension and are prevented from undesired removal by preferably interlocking with the spring seats 23 in any desired manner, as by being notched at 24, and receiving corresponding projections 25 from the spring seats 23Y in said notches. as shown most rclearly in Figure 3.

The release springs 16 are preferably held in proper alignment by fitting over collars 26 on the seats and being surrounded by the partition portions 19 of the spring cage 14 and the overlying flange portions 2'7 on the spring follower portion 15. The spring seat members 23 are desirably disposed in proper relation with respect to the keys 20 by having flanges or ribs 28 disposed in said keys. Froml the foregoing disclosure, it will be seen that I have devised a substantially fully enclosed fr i'ctiondraft gear or cushioning device involving a housing containing spring-pressed wedges, with their large ends lnormallyrin frictional engagement with the end wall` of the housing, and a follower, spring cage orwoooperating housing, norlmally telescoping with the first-mentioned housing, with a preferably integral extension providing a central cooperating wedge and enclosing kthe release springs, said wedge desirably interlocking with the wedges in the housing and keys, normally disposed in frictional engagement with the small ends of the wedges, being provided for preventing undesired Withdrawal of said wedges and holding the release springs under initial compression, if desired. The follower portion 15 of the device 14 is preferably so constructed that upon complete closure ofv the gear the flanges 2'7 engage the adjacent end of the housing 2. It will be clear that the gear may be assembled by placing the wedges, plate springs and keys in place in the housing 2, positioning thereleasesprings and spring seats in the spring cage or plunger pockets in the cooper; ating device 14 and forcing theV parts together, as in a hydraulic press, until the spear head extension or central wedge snaps into interlocking engagement between the wedges 3 in the position shown in Figure 1. An alternative method of assembly involves interlocking the wedges 3 with thespear head or central wedge portion 5 and sliding the spring cage or plunger 14 with the release springs and seats into therhousing 2, forcing the wedges 3 and associated wedge portion 5 between the leaf springs 4, and then driving the transverse keys 20 into place. Y To disassemble the gear, it will be necessary to drive out the keys 20. The notches 24 in the keys 20 which serve to interlock the spring seatswith respect thereto-should be considered as merely illustrative and not limiting.

I have shown thev cushioning mechanism or draft geardisposed with its narrow sides as upper and lower walls, as it would be if used -With a horizontal yoke. Itv will be understood, however,

' that I may use mygear with the wide sidesl as the `1. Cushioning mechanism comprising a housing, wedges disposed therein and presenting outwardly diverging friction surfaces, resilient means urging said wedges toward one another, a follower formed with an extension normally fitting between said wedges and provided withv correspond- Ywalls and forming inwardly opening pockets, friction wedges disposed in said housing and presenting outwardly diverging friction surfaces, resilient vmeans disposed in said pockets and urging said wedges toward one another, a follower formed with an extension Vnormally fitting between said wedges and provided with corresponding friction surfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, said wedges and extension being provided with normally engaging shoulders for preventing undesired withdrawalV of the exftension from engagement Awith said wedges, and stop means cooperating with said housing to pre-V vent undesired withdrawal yof said wedges.

3. Cushioning mechanism comprising a housing, wedges received therein and presenting outwardly` diverging friction surfaces, curved plate springs disposed between the wedges and adjacent walls of the housing for urging said wedges toward one another, a follower provided with an extension normally fitting between said wedges and having corresponding friction surfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, and keys intersecting the side walls of said `housing and normally engagingY the outer ends of said wedgesl forl preventing outward Vdisplacement thereof. f l f.

v 4. Cushioning mechanism comprisinga housing, wedges disposed therein and presenting outwardly diverging friction surfaces, resilient means urg-fA ing'said wedges toward one another, a spring cage provided with a central extension normally fitting between said wedges and formed with corresponding friction surfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, means cooperating vwith said housing toprevent `Aundesired withdrawal of said wedges, and release springs disposed in said cage and acting on said last-mentioned means toY effect release of themechanism.

5. Cushioning mechanism comprising a hous ing, wedges received therein and frictionally engaging a transverse wall thereof,V curved plate springs disposed between the wedges and adjacent walls of the housing for urging said wedges toward one another, a follower provided-with an extension normally fitting between said wedges and having corresponding frictionsurfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, keys intersecting the side walls of said housing and normally frictionally engaging the adjacent ends of said wedges and preventing outward displacement thereof, release springs disposedbetween said housing and follower, and spring caps disposed between said keys and the adjacent ends of said release springs.v n v 6. Cushioning mechanism comprising a housing, wedges received therein and presenting outf Wardly diverging frictional surfaces; resilient means urging said wedges toward one another, aV

cooperating housing normally telescoping with the rst housing and formed with a wedge-shaped portion normally fitting between the wedges in the first housing and provided with corresponding friction surfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, and removable means intersecting the first housing and engaging the Wedges to prevent undesired Withdrawal ofthe latter.

7. Cushioning mechanism comprising a housing, a pair of friction wedges disposed therein and presenting outwardly diverging friction surfaces, resilient means urging said wedges toward one another, `a housing telescoping with the rstmentioned housing and formed withva wedgeshaped extension normally fitting between said Wedges and provided with corresponding friction surfaces in engagement with the friction surfaces thereof, said wedges and extension having normally engaging shoulders for preventing undesired withdrawal of the second housing from the first-mentioned housing, and means cooperating with said first-mentioned housing to prevent undesired withdrawal of the contained wedges.

8. Cushioning mechanism comprising a housing, a pair of friction wedges disposed therein and presenting outwardly diverging friction surfaces, the large ends of said wedges normally engaging a transverse wall of the housing, a resilient means for urging said wedges toward one another, a second housing provided with a central extension normally tting between said effect release of the mechanism.

DONALD s. BARRoWs.

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